Pokemon (Burger King, 1999)
About On November 8, 1999, Burger King had offered a set of 59 toys based on 'Pokémon ('Keychains, Squirters, Rev-Tops, Launchers, Talking plush, Light ups and Poké Beanbags) inside a pokéball container and with one of the 151 trading cards. The promotion ended on December 31, 1999. s-l300 (3).jpg|Burger King Pokémon complete set of 59 toys. 1999-Burger-King-Pokemon-Complete-Sheet-Untorn.jpg|With the shortage of toys, Burger King offered "Master sheets", each sheet came with 9 of the 151 trading cards, with a total of 20 master sheets. 91XKuRsUopL._SY450_.jpg|On November 15, 1999, with the common shortages of the toys, Burger King launched a set of six 23 karate gold plated cards; purchase a meal and for $1.99 you have one of these gold cards. Each box came with a certificate of authenticity and have blue or red colors. Sandshrew Bag.jpg|A Sandshrew bag. 6a00d834525fe869e201b7c81cefa2970b-500wi.png|Pikachu talking plush, one of the most difficult toys to find at the time. There are three Pikachu talking plush on the set, each plush says one phrase like "Pikachu", "Pika-chu" or "Pika pika", 12b79f458759dbb21acb801d0f00a108653e6382_00.jpg|Complete set of six 23 karate gold plated cards. 717AR4kFwnL._SX466_.jpg|Each package comes with a pokéball container, one of the 59 Pokémon toys, an instruction booklet and one of the 151 trading cards. 9409057_orig.jpg|Behind each trading card, there is one of 10 scenes from Pokémon: The First Movie. 21530929e5e9202eea433661897513ba--pikachu-pokemon.jpg|A Burger King Pokémon promotional crown. b92735e9a51c22d8051306ae3f71c24f.jpg|A Jigglypuff bag. images.jpg|Burger King Pokémon Geodude and Nidoran ♂/Nidorino/Nidoking bags. Lot-of-21-POKEMON-Burger-King-Bags-1999.jpg|Burger King Pokémon Jigglypuff meal bags and Pikachu french fries bags. MVC-003S-66.jpg|Burger King Kids Club program with Pokémon promotion. MVC-006S-70.jpg|Pikachu french fries bag (Front). MVC-007S-62.jpg|Pikachu french fries bag (Back). MVC-010S-59.jpg|Burger King Pokémon meal bags. pokemon-burger-king-bags-nintendo_1_fbcb80bd46564e4a95476e3dc4a26149 (1).jpg|Nidoran ♂/Nidorino/Nidoking bag. pokemon-burger-king-bags-nintendo_1_fbcb80bd46564e4a95476e3dc4a26149 (2).jpg|Burger King Pokémon bag with 23 karate gold plated cards information. pokemon-burger-king-bags-nintendo_1_fbcb80bd46564e4a95476e3dc4a26149.jpg|Nidoran ♂/Nidorino/Nidoking meal bags. Pokemon-Burger-King-Kids-Meal-Toy-Instructions-Charmander.jpg|Burger King Pokémon bag and instruction booklet. Pokemon-Burger-King-Kids-Meal-Toy-Instructions-Charmander-_57 (1).jpg|Keychain set instruction booklet. Pokemon-Burger-King-Kids-Meal-Toy-Instructions-Charmander-_57 (2).jpg|Poké beanbag set instruction booklet. Pokemon-Burger-King-Kids-Meal-Toy-Instructions-Charmander-_57 (3).jpg|Rev-Tops set instruction booklet. Pokemon-Burger-King-Kids-Meal-Toy-Instructions-Charmander-_57.jpg|Light-Ups set instruction booklet. Pokemon-Burger-King-kids-meal-vintage-placemat-1999-_57.jpg|Burger King Pokémon toys checklist paper. Pokémon-Burger-King-kids-meal-vintage-placemat-1999.jpg|Burger King Pokémon meal paper. pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-02-1100x825.jpg|Burger King Pokémon meal paper. pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-11-825x1100.jpg|Burger King Pokémon promotional paper. pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-08-825x1100.jpg|Meowth meal bag (Front), pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-09-825x1100.jpg|Meowth meal bag (Back). pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-07-825x1100.jpg|Sandshrew and Jigglypuff meal bags (Front). pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-05-825x1100.jpg|Burger King Pokémon meal bags (Back). pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-03-825x1100.jpg|Pokémon meal bag. pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-01-825x1100.jpg|Pokémon meal bag. s-l640.jpg|Burger King Pokémon Mew meal bag. s-l300 (2).jpg|Burger King Pokémon promotional crown, french fries container and cups. pokemon-collectible-magazine-w-bags-12-825x1100.jpg|Burger King Kids Club Pokémon magazine. s-l300 (1).jpg|Burger King Pokémon poster with all the toys. With the shortage of the toys, the poster was used like substitute. Accident On December 11, 1999, the mother of 13-month-old Kira Alexis Murphy was taking a 20 minute shower and was planning on feeding Kira after she finished showering. Unfortunately for the mother, she emerged to find her 13-month-old baby daughter dead in her playpen with the red part of the ball covering her mouth and nose, causing a suffocation. Kira's 2 older sisters; who were 4 and 5 at the time had witnessed the death. The mother of Kira managed to successfully sue BK during Burger King's long back and forth conversation with the US Product Consumer Saftey Commission. However, during the conversation, on December 23, a 18 month old girl, the oldest in this series of accidents, had almost died after her lips turned blue during suffocation. Her father had thankfully witnessed her in time and successfully removed the ball from his daughter. The name of the 18-month-old is currently unknown, but what we know is that this girl is currently 21 years old. After the 18 month old almost suffocated, frustration from not only the baby's parents but from other BK fans were over the roof; heavy criticism began and Burger King was losing popularity. This left Burger King with no choice but to begin a recall for the pokeballs. Over 25 million units were destroyed. Burger King offered that if the ball was returned, returners could get free small fries for the toy. A commercial began airing and warnings were included in meal packs. The final incident occured on Tuesday January 25, 2000. A baby boy named 'Zachary Jones' who was only 4 months old, being the youngest in this series of accidents, had died just the same way Kira Alexis Murphy had. He was found dead in his crib with the ball over his mouth and nose. His grandfather had left a comment on the tragedy; "It's hard to believe that you go get the kids something to eat and bring home a lethal toy.". Zachary's death happened 25 days after the promotion ended; therefore there was nothing Burger King could do over the tragedy over Zachary's death. Pokemon had gone on to have had more promotions at Burger King, but none of them included pokeballs since the December 1999 incident. Although this has been largely forgotten, it still remains the darkest event that happened in Burger King. Category:1999 Category:Pokemon Category:Burger King Category:Recalled items Category:Deaths Caused